This is one of those recipes…
One of those recipes that’s impossible to stop eating until every last chocolate bite has disappeared. Rich dark chocolate, complemented by creamy banana filling…
I made two batches (for five of us who were watching the Olympics last night). One batch was just banana and a second batch was peanut butter banana, where I blended a big spoonful of crunchy peanut butter into the filling.
There were no leftovers.
Monkey See Monkey… Eat
The summer after I finished third grade, my family took a trip to Vermont and stopped at the Ben & Jerry’s factory to see how ice cream is made. (I think that same summer, we visited a brewery and got to see how beer is made. It was a very educational summer for me!)
After touring the factory came the best part: sampling ice cream. We tried chocolate, we tried Cherry Garcia, and finally we tried their #1 seller, Chunky Monkey. I decided this flavor was my favorite, mostly because I thought the name was funny. The tour guide then informed us that this particular product had a different name in Japan; it was simply called Banana Nut. Apparently, if you try to translate the name to Japanese, you get “Chunks of Monkey.”
Ever since that trip, whenever I see anything chocolate-and-banana flavored, my mind automatically thinks of chunks of monkey.
So… who’s hungry now? 
Chocolate Monkey Bites
- 1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup virgin coconut oil, melted
- 20-30 nunaturals vanilla stevia drops (or 3-4 tbsp liquid sweetener, such as agave)
- 1/2 a banana (see “nutrition info” link below for all substitution notes in this recipe)
- tiny pinch salt
- optional: 1-2 tbsp peanut butter (or pb2, or another nut butter)
Combine first three ingredients in a bowl and stir until it makes a chocolate sauce. Pour a little of the sauce (saving the rest for later) into the bottoms of cupcake liners, mini cupcake liners, or candy molds. Then freeze 8-10 minutes. Meanwhile, blend (or mash and stir with a fork) the banana, salt, and optional ingredients. Take liners out of the freezer and top each with banana mixture. Now evenly distribute the rest of the chocolate and re-freeze until solid. This recipe makes 9-10 mini cups (as shown in the photos).
View Monkey Bites Nutrition Facts
Link of the Day:
I’ll jump on the peanut butter cookie dough bandwagon, but I think it would be an awesome twist if you made it a cinnamon raisin peanut butter cookie dough filling. Yum. I LOVE cinnamon 🙂
I always LOVE your posts. They are always so creative and funny. 🙂
To this day, I still can’t find a raw or vegan version of white chocolate. I think it would be AMAZING if there was a raw/vegan version (or maybe just vegan) of white chocolate peanut butter cups!
What would be even tastier is a white chocolate sunflower seed butter cup! Oh, ideas are swirling through my head right now!!
(P.S. pick my idea! Pretty please? It’s definitely a fun challenge for you to try!)
These look AMAZING! And they’re pretty healthy too! Thanks so much for posting. I’ll have to try this out!
Coconut filling!
Or almond paste,
Or pecan and caramel!
I can’t choose just one!
COOKIE DOUGH PB CUPS WOULD MAKE MY LIFE.
OH GREAT IDEA
No better flavor combo than banana, chocolate and PB!! A pretzel PB cup would be pretty delicious too!
Omg, YES on the PB pretzel idea!!
It’s really exciting to make your own chocolate. I’ve made those pretend reese’s eggs numerous times since easter…they are just so delicious!
I’m a peanut butter purist I think, because peanut butter in chocolate it enough for me!
YUM!
PB&J cups!! Or white chocolate/macadamia/coconut.
Coconut butter or your version of Nutella..or cheesecake…or oreo..or PRETZEL..or a cake bite..or something minty…the possibilities are endless..